Well, it has been way too long, but I'm back. Greece was fabulous and eventful as always. My family truly lives up to the stereotype and kept me laughing most of the visit. Too bad they weren't trying to be funny.
The heat was unbearable at times and I promised my husband we will not go in June/July/August next time. We had many "I told you so" moments since he wanted to go in May and I insisted on June/July. We arrived in Athens on a Friday morning after travelling for 22 hours. My mom picked us up at the airport. We stopped for a quick hello to Yiayia and Papou in Athens (literally five minutes), drove four hours to the port town of Kilini, rode the ferry for two hours to the island of Cephalonia and then finally drove another hour to our village. This entire day took place in a car without air conditioning in 100+ temperatures. It was not a great way to acclimate.
Once we arrived on the island we spent the first week visiting with the many members of my extended family who now live in Australia and my little sister and her family. It was a great time relaxing, swimming at our secluded beach and visiting with all the family.
After Cephalonia, we headed back to Athens and spent the next few days with all the Athens relatives. Almost every night was a large dinner with 15+ family members each night. This was my husband's second visit to Greece and my brother in-law's first. They were beside themselves with glee over all the food. Throughout our trip we enjoyed countless ice creams, desserts and gyros. Greece's desserts are largely influenced from France, so just think fancy, decadent and heavenly and you get the picture. My absolute favorite are profiteroles! Yum!
My sister, brother-in law, husband and I headed to the island of Patmos for a few days just to check out another island that we hadn't been to before. We stayed with a friend of my mom's and relaxed on the island. Once again, we headed back to Athens for the rest of our stay. We checked out the Archaeological Museum in Athens, but that was the only "tourist" type attraction we did since we have seen most of those things before.
It was a great time to enjoy family and the simple things in life. My Yiayia and Papou are 86 and 93, respectively and just amaze me with their zest for life. They still live on their own, but I know the time for them to pass on will come soon. I feel very lucky to be able to continue to spend quality time with them.
Here at home, we are busy DINKs always motivated by the next goal, working on a house project, planning the future. Going to visit my family in Greece is really a "getaway" from it all.
The heat was unbearable at times and I promised my husband we will not go in June/July/August next time. We had many "I told you so" moments since he wanted to go in May and I insisted on June/July. We arrived in Athens on a Friday morning after travelling for 22 hours. My mom picked us up at the airport. We stopped for a quick hello to Yiayia and Papou in Athens (literally five minutes), drove four hours to the port town of Kilini, rode the ferry for two hours to the island of Cephalonia and then finally drove another hour to our village. This entire day took place in a car without air conditioning in 100+ temperatures. It was not a great way to acclimate.
Once we arrived on the island we spent the first week visiting with the many members of my extended family who now live in Australia and my little sister and her family. It was a great time relaxing, swimming at our secluded beach and visiting with all the family.
After Cephalonia, we headed back to Athens and spent the next few days with all the Athens relatives. Almost every night was a large dinner with 15+ family members each night. This was my husband's second visit to Greece and my brother in-law's first. They were beside themselves with glee over all the food. Throughout our trip we enjoyed countless ice creams, desserts and gyros. Greece's desserts are largely influenced from France, so just think fancy, decadent and heavenly and you get the picture. My absolute favorite are profiteroles! Yum!
My sister, brother-in law, husband and I headed to the island of Patmos for a few days just to check out another island that we hadn't been to before. We stayed with a friend of my mom's and relaxed on the island. Once again, we headed back to Athens for the rest of our stay. We checked out the Archaeological Museum in Athens, but that was the only "tourist" type attraction we did since we have seen most of those things before.
It was a great time to enjoy family and the simple things in life. My Yiayia and Papou are 86 and 93, respectively and just amaze me with their zest for life. They still live on their own, but I know the time for them to pass on will come soon. I feel very lucky to be able to continue to spend quality time with them.
Here at home, we are busy DINKs always motivated by the next goal, working on a house project, planning the future. Going to visit my family in Greece is really a "getaway" from it all.
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